Small-Town Realtor, Big Results: Lee Fast on First-Time Buyers, Farming, and Family
Honesty, Hard Work, and Boundaries: Real Estate Lessons from Agent & Farmer, Lee Fast
Real estate is full of scripts, tactics, and highlight reels.
What you hear less often is the quiet, unpolished reality of what it takes to serve clients well, raise a young family, juggle multiple jobs, and still grow a business without burning your life to the ground.
That’s what comes through in this Beyond the Guidelines conversation between host Ryan and Minnesota real estate agent Lee Fast of Heartland Real Estate.
Lee is not just an agent. He’s also:
A full-time crop adjuster
A hands-on farmer
A husband and dad to two boys under four
And his stated purpose is simple:
“I’m here to guide you with honesty and care so you can make confident decisions for your future.”
This blog breaks down the key lessons from Lee’s story for real estate professionals who want a business that feels honest, sustainable, and actually aligned with their life.
Leading with honesty and care
When Ryan asks how Lee landed on his purpose statement, Lee doesn’t talk about branding or positioning.
He goes straight to morals:
Treat people how you want to be treated.
Be honest about the process.
Care about the person, not just the deal.
His perspective comes from his own first home purchase. He and his wife bought privately, without an agent. They had no idea what they were doing.
They got lucky.
The seller had similar values, wanted a fair end result, and didn't take advantage of their inexperience. That experience stuck with Lee. It showed him what it feels like to walk into a huge financial decision with zero education and a lot of trust.
So when he became an agent, especially for first-time buyers and younger clients, he decided he was going to be the person who:
Explains what’s going on
Removes as many surprises as possible
Helps them feel confident, not confused
For real estate pros, this is a simple filter you can steal:
“Would I be happy if someone treated my kid, my brother, or my parents this way in a transaction they didn’t fully understand?”
If the honest answer is no, something needs to change.
From side hustle to serious business
When Lee started in real estate, it wasn’t his main job.
He was already working full-time. Real estate began as a side hustle:
Something to fill the gap between crop adjusting calls
A way to earn some extra money for vacations
A chance to finally get into sales, which had always interested him
Because of that, his mindset was different from a lot of new agents:
His family’s survival didn’t depend on the first few closings.
His initial target was modest: “If I make a couple hundred bucks or a grand, great.”
He wasn’t desperate for a check, which made it easier to put values ahead of volume.
Over time, that approach started to compound:
Clients saw he wasn’t just chasing a commission.
Word of mouth in a small town traveled fast.
Reviews highlighted the same theme:
“He works hard.”
Real estate moved from “extra money” to a meaningful part of his identity and income.
Takeaway for agents:
You don’t have to start full-time to build a real business. But whether you’re full-time or not, clients can tell if you’re anchored in service and hard work or just trying to hit your number.
Wearing three hats: crop adjuster, farmer, agent
One of the most interesting parts of Lee’s story is how his roles feed into each other.
Crop adjuster
As a crop adjuster, he:
Waits on weather events like hail.
Gets called in after damage.
Works with farmers who are stressed and worried about their income.
His job is to:
Be fair to the farmer
Be fair to the company
Communicate clearly about how they’ll be taken care of
Most non-farmers can’t relate to losing a crop, but they can relate to having their car totaled or damaged. It’s the same emotional space: uncertainty, worry, and wanting to know, “How is this going to end for me?”
Farmer
Through marriage, Lee stepped deeper into farming with his in-laws in southern Minnesota. They grow corn and beans, and he found a new kind of satisfaction in it:
“There’s something about putting something in the ground and growing it… just taking pride in that.”
Farming taught him patience, process, and the reality that you don’t control everything. You do your part, and then you trust the work and the seasons.
Real estate
All of that overlaps with real estate:
People are worried about their “crop” (their home, their money, their future).
They want someone who is right with them and right with the company.
They want no surprises at the end: especially on costs, fees, appraisals, inspections.
So Lee focuses on setting expectations early:
What things will cost
When those costs show up
How appraisals, inspections, and charges really work
He’s upfront about what he knows and what he doesn’t, and he uses a simple line a lot of agents could use more often:
“I don’t know, but I know someone who does, and I’ll get you an answer.”
That humility has kept him from making some of the big, career-defining mistakes many new agents make by guessing.
Learning through small failures (and having the right broker)
Lee is honest that his first years were full of dropped balls:
Forgetting to explain certain charges
Missing details around appraisals
Not fully preparing buyers for inspection realities
What kept those failures from turning into disasters?
A hands-on, small-town broker
Someone who answered the phone “99% of the time”
Someone he could call mid-deal to get real answers
Someone invested in his growth, not just his split
A willingness to admit mistakes and learn fast
Owning it when he forgot something
Adjusting his process so the same oversight didn’t happen twice
Using every misstep to refine how he guides the next client
For agents listening, there are two clear lessons:
Pick your brokerage and mentor for access and alignment, not just brand.
Build a process where every mistake leads to a permanent fix, not just an apology.
Time, family, and the 5–8 p.m. problem
Ask any working parent in real estate what the hardest balance is, and they’ll give you a similar answer:
The hours clients want are the hours my family needs.
Lee says most people misunderstand how time works for realtors.
For many clients:
Kids are in school or daycare all day.
They work 8–5 or 9–5.
Their real “free time” is 5–8 p.m.
That is exactly when:
Agents’ kids are also home.
Their spouse is back from work.
Family time is supposed to happen.
In his early years, Lee did what most hungry agents do:
He said yes to almost everything.
Showings 5–8 p.m.
Multiple evenings out
Wife holding it down at home while he chased his new career
She understood the goals and supported the grind, but over time it took a toll.
After five years in the business, his approach shifted:
He started respecting his own time first.
He began offering later options instead of dropping everything:
“I can’t show tonight, but will Friday at 6 work?”
He realized most people were fine with that, and many simply had never been given another option.
The key insight:
People will respect your time if you respect your time.
For agents, this is permission to:
Stop assuming every request is an emergency.
Offer clear time windows that work for your family.
Protect the 5–8 p.m. block when you can, and be strategic when you can’t.
Advice to a younger agent: you need drive and structure
When asked what he would tell his younger self, Lee gives a balanced answer.
On one hand:
He’s glad he pushed hard in the beginning.
He needed that hustle to get his name out, gather reviews, and prove he would work.
In a small town, “word gets around” fast if you show up.
On the other hand:
He would have started managing his time better sooner.
He would have asked more often, “Can we schedule that a few days out?” instead of reacting to every request.
He points out another layer:
Sometimes we work late not because the business demands it, but because we didn’t focus during work hours.
That’s a quiet but important self-check for any real estate pro:
Are you working late because deals demand it?
Or because you spent the day half on social media, half on email, and never did the deep work?
Morning mindset, faith, and running as a reset
Lee credits a lot of his stability to how he starts his day.
He’s transparent that he’s not perfect. Some days the phone comes out first and he gets trapped in social media like everyone else.
But his goal is:
Start the day positive.
Start it with faith and perspective, not noise.
For him and his wife, that looks like:
Devotionals
The “Message” channel on SiriusXM in the mornings
A focus on gratitude and mindset, especially after long, hard days with kids
Why it matters for business:
You never know what kind of mood the person on the other end of the call is in.
Many clients have had a bad experience with another agent.
Your energy sets the tone for the entire interaction.
On top of that, running plays a big role for Lee:
Sometimes it’s classic rock and a push (AC/DC, “Bring Em Out” from college football days).
Other times it’s Christian music and a slower pace when he needs to calm his mind.
He uses runs in the middle of the day when the morning gets away from him, to reset for the afternoon.
For real estate pros, the exact details don’t matter. The pattern does:
Have a way to start your day clean.
Have a way to reset mid-day when your brain is fried.
Protect something that is just for you: a run, a walk, a workout, quiet time, prayer, reading.
It will make you a better agent, parent, and partner.
Separating work and home: practical boundaries
One habit Lee and his wife follow is simple but powerful:
No phones at dinner.
They put devices away and:
Focus on the kids.
Focus on each other.
Disconnect from the world for a short window.
The pattern:
Work during the day.
Turn the computer off and be present for dinner and bedtime.
If something is truly urgent, return to work after the kids are down.
This isn’t new advice, but it’s real. The difference is actually doing it, not just talking about “work-life balance” as a concept.
A growth season: family, farm, and real estate
Near the end of the episode, Ryan asks what Lee is most excited about next, personally or professionally.
Lee doesn’t hesitate:
He’s in a growth season.
Family
Two little boys.
Outgrowing their first home.
Working toward a move that better fits where their family is heading.
He jokes that he’s “in the garage” because the kids took over the house, but the point is clear: their life is expanding.
Farming
As his father-in-law slows down, more doors are opening on the farming side.
Farming has become his “number one love” in many ways.
There’s pride in planting and harvesting that is hard to explain until you’ve done it.
Real estate
Each year he sets goals.
Each year he either meets them or stretches them further.
Five years in, he never imagined he’d be where he is now.
Ryan notes that many people he talks to are not in a growth season. They’re just trying to survive the day-to-day.
Hearing from someone who is in an upswing is a reminder that:
Seasons change.
Sometimes you’re building.
Sometimes you’re holding on.
Sometimes you’re expanding.
The key is to recognize the season you’re in and act accordingly.
Key lessons for real estate professionals
Pulling it all together, here are the practical takeaways from Lee’s story that you can apply to your own business:
Lead with honesty and care.
Make it your job to remove surprises, especially around costs and timelines. Treat clients how you’d want your family treated.It’s okay to start small.
Whether real estate is full-time or a side hustle, service and hard work will build momentum over time.Use your past experience.
Farming, adjusting, teaching, nursing, military – whatever you did before real estate taught you how to handle people in stressful moments. Bring that into your practice.Choose the right support.
A broker or mentor who answers the phone and cares about your growth is worth more than a flashy brand.Learn fast from mistakes.
When you drop the ball, own it, fix it, and change your process so it doesn’t happen again.Protect the 5–8 p.m. window.
Respect your own time and your family’s time. Offer alternative showings. Most clients will work with you.Focus during work hours.
Don’t let distraction during the day force you into late-night marathons that could have been avoided.Start your day on purpose.
Faith, mindset, music, movement – whatever helps you show up as the person your clients and family need.Build real boundaries at home.
Something as simple as “no phones at dinner” can change the tone of your evenings.Recognize your season.
If you’re in growth, go for it. If you’re in survival, simplify. Either way, don’t lose sight of the people you’re doing this for.
Real estate is not just about listings, rates, or scripts. It’s about how you show up for people when they’re making some of the biggest decisions of their life.
Lee’s story is a reminder that you don’t need to be the loudest agent in the room to build a meaningful, growing business. You just need to be honest, work hard, keep your word, and protect the things that matter most.
3.2 Light supporting assets
Since your main goal was the 2,000-word blog, I’ll keep the extras tight.
LinkedIn post idea:
Most agents talk about “hustle.”
Very few talk about what that does to their family from 5–8 p.m.
Minnesota agent & farmer Lee Fast shared how he went from saying yes to every evening showing…
…to asking one simple question:“I can’t tonight. Will Friday at 6 work?”
Almost every time, the answer is yes.
People will respect your time if you respect your time.
